


Resting Respite

by fupette



Category: Yellowstone (TV 2018)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27146395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fupette/pseuds/fupette
Summary: Beth and Rip rest and recover from the Beck Brother’s attack.
Relationships: Beth Dutton/Rip Wheeler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Resting Respite

**Author's Note:**

> Please note there is a little bit of swearing in the story. Just a quick one-shot of Beth and Rip trying to recover after the attack at Beth's Office.

‘Beaten black and blue’ had always struck Rip as a strange phrase. As a man versed in the art of violence, he was more than familiar with the punitive properties of laying a ‘beat-down’ on somebody. As he watched the slow rise and fall of Beth’s beaten body, the phrase beaten to a bloody pulp came to mind too, red bloody streaks covered her swollen face. A halo of bruised fingerprints pockmarked Beth’s long neck, a clear sign of strangulation, he knew she had hid the rest of her wounds behind her loose robe. He shifted his position hissing at the fiery pain radiating from his own abdomen, the cauterising of the bullet wound hurt like a motherfucker. “Urgh, stay still” Her pained sigh knocked him from his stupor, he could only see her closed eye swollen shut in the low light of the bedroom but he knew now she was awake, only pretending to asleep. “It's okay, do you need to talk about it?”.

She buried her face into his broad shoulders, enjoying the stolid comfort, hiding her face further from his worried gaze. "I was so afraid. God, I couldn’t stop myself, no matter how much they hurt me, I kept insisting on making it worse. It scared me how much disregard I had for my own safety and those bloody bastards just won’t stop.”, her voice was filled with shame and regret. Surprised by her candour, Rip reached to cup her face.

She pulled back momentarily from Rip’s warm core, he saw now how much the truth cost her, how she rejected his act of comfort as if she was somehow unworthy of respite from her pain and suffering. She faced him full on. “Jason is dead because of me, It's all my fault”. He recognised Insecure-Beth laid bare by her vulnerable words, her normal bravado undercut by the raw pain of her admission. She hauntingly repeated the words “All my fault”, to herself. He feared momentarily that she would pull her normal escape move, whenever she shared her most intimate thoughts she normally retreated forcefully away from him.

His heart bled for her, he knew despite the bitch persona that Beth portrayed to the outside world, she sometimes gave him unguarded glances to the lost little girl, before she usually shied away from the emotional intimacy. It seemed like the night’s event had knocked down her usual walls and safeguards. Rip reached to pull her back into the comfort of his earlier embrace, gently shushing her protestations, not wanting her to retreat into her mental fortress of solitude. Given her bullish personality, he sometimes forgot how small Beth is, how fragile she is, as he looked at her now it reminded him how breakable and sensitive she truly is. 

Even bloodied and bruised her beauty took his breath away, she was brave, wild and wilful at the best of times, but tonight he could only see pain, plainly the physical and emotional toll the attack had taken a heavy price upon her. “Hush Darling, you’re safe”. He brushed his fingers through the her stray wisps of hair, as she placed her head under his chin, he could sense her trepidation to drape her hands over his bandaged trunk in their normal bedtime position. He used his free hand to pull her closer to him, and placed her hand over his heart. “I love you, you are safe now. Sleep”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Her face hurt; her chest was sore, she can't escape the stab each breath radiates throughout her body. She fights to keep her breathing slow and even, fucking hell, she thought, have I broken ribs? She notes her functional blindness, one eye won't open, she can feel the tautness in the skin around her eye, puffed and swollen shut. When the bed beneath her moves she releases a low whimper, _oh shit did her complaining wake Rip up?._ His movement, allowed her to see his gauze-wrapped torso with her good eye. Dependable Rip, her knight in shining armour, he was always rescuing her, he had the bullet holes to prove it. She owes him the honesty of her thoughts.

After her initial vacillation, Beth let’s him pull her closer, she marvels at his strength, feeling it in stark contrast to her own weak protestations. With her head on his chest, she listens to his heartbeat, a steady metronome of sound, she closes her eye to focus on the low thrubbing sound, it distracts her from her traitorous thoughts, knowing that tomorrow she’d need to ring Jason’s parents, she’d need to deal with her father’s disappointment, she’d need to tackle the welts and weals on her face when she confronts her reflection in the mirror. She could no longer tell if her self-inflicted mental torment was worse than the actual injuries she sustained in the attack, _maybe they were the two sides of the same coin?_

She hears his entreaties telling her she is safe, she longs to believe him but the cold rational part of her mind tells her the Beck brothers are still out there. Her complete exhaustion pulling her into the blackness of a dreamless sleep. Tomorrow she’d worry about rebuilding her protections, she’d build her walls back higher and tougher to protect her from these unwanted emotions. She’d displayed unforgivable weakness in front of her father and brother, she wished she had the energy to address this foible now, but this was a problem for later. She found herself less worried about her emotional vulnerability in front of Rip. Tonight she had the balm of her soul mate’s comforting presence, it might be temporary but after the terror of her day, she was in her favourite place, the safety of Rip’s arms.


End file.
